


When the Lights Go Out

by malmal88



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck's POV, Eddie teasing Buck, Fluffy and Romantic, Getting Together, I failed to add a dash of angst, I tried to add a dash of angst, M/M, Power Outage, Some Swearing, Takes place sometime after 3x08, flirty Buck and Eddie, kissing in bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:28:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21541351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malmal88/pseuds/malmal88
Summary: A power outage interrupts Buck and Eddie's movie night. They make the most of it.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 16
Kudos: 593





	When the Lights Go Out

Buck drums along with the music on his steering wheel as he pulls into the Diaz’s driveway. It has been a long and difficult week, and he is glad it is over. Aside from the ongoing drama with Hen, Bobby had been out with a stomach bug for three days. Instead of having Chimney fill in as captain again, the fire chief, in all his infinite wisdom had used Bobby’s tragic fate as a test run for a crewmember from another station who was looking to get promoted to captain. She hadn’t been terrible, but it had thrown off the entire team dynamic. Especially considering that Hen’s temporary replacement was not really fitting in.

The day Bobby returned instead of all being well again, they had what was for Buck, one of the most difficult calls since his return to the 118. A little boy had fallen into a ride at a water park. His terrified father had jumped in after him and had managed to get the boy safely onto the float before getting trapped in part of the mechanism. There was so much blood in the water, a drenched and terrified little boy, and the close to death body of his father trapped in the ride with his head held afloat by the ride attendant. Buck was still wary of water to begin with. The image haunted Buck long Bobby had reassured him that the hospital said the father would make a full recovery.

That night Buck had dreamt of the tsunami; bloody, lifeless bodies floating by, and a little hand reaching out for him, terrified and unable to fight the pull of the water back out to sea. He had woken to the sound his own voice shouting out Christopher’s name in a cold sweat, alone in his apartment. Before Buck had been aware of his actions, he was on the phone with Eddie. At 3:30 in the morning. Eddie had been understanding and even sent Buck a picture of Christopher, asleep safe and sound in his bed.

Happily, Buck has 48 hours before he needs to report for his next shift. Tonight Christopher had been kidnapped away by Eddie’s abuela, and so Eddie had invited Buck over to watch a movie – “something not animated” he had stressed – throw back a couple of beers and eat a pizza or two. Buck wasn’t really sure if Eddie wanted to spend time with his friend, or needed a distraction to keep him out of trouble. Either way, Buck was happy for some quality time with Eddie. Time with Eddie was something that Buck found himself craving more than he cared to dwell on. 

Buck grabs the pizzas from the passenger seat and makes his way up to the house. Rapping his knuckles on he door twice, he pushed it open. “Hey man, I’m here,” Buck calls walking inside.

“In the kitchen.”

Buck wanders into the kitchen and deposits the pizzas on the counter. Eddie is standing across the room, dumping a bag of chips into a bowl. He’s clad in a pair well-worn sweatpants and a faded t-shirt that has the combat medic insignia stamped on the chest, and Buck suddenly feels overdressed in his dark wash skinny jeans and button-down. “Perfect timing, I’m starving, and that smells delicious. Is it from Antonio’s?”

“That’s your favorite, right?” Buck asks back, grinning, and moves to grab plates and napkins.

“You spoil me,” Eddie says as Buck stacks the plates on top of the pizza boxes and lifts all of it back up. “You want a beer or water?”

“Beer, definitely.”

Eddie smiles and grabs the drinks from the fridge. Holding the two bottles by the necks he grabs the bowl of chips. “Do you have a movie preference?” he asks, leading Buck into the living room.

“Something funny.”

“Oh good. After this week I really need to laugh.”

“I hear that,” Buck says, setting the pizza boxes on the coffee table and exchanging a plate for a beer. The men settle down onto the couch and Eddie turns on the TV and pulls up Netflix. Clicking to the comedy section he starts flipping through, stopping every so often until they decide on something. After that, they fall into a comfortable silence as they eat and watch the movie, the occasional laugh from one or both echoing through the room.

At some point Eddie gets up to bring the trash to the kitchen, and returns with the rest of the six-pack, placing it on the table where the pizza boxes had been. Buck reaches forward to grab a handful of chips, and when he leans back he starts shifting uncomfortably, his shirt riding up or twisting awkwardly as he tries to slouch back on the couch. His unrest catches Eddie’s attention.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, just can’t get comfortable. I probably should have changed when I got back from lunch with Maddie,” he shifts again trying to straighten his shirt. “Forget it.” He huffs, before sitting up and deftly unbuttoning and shedding his shirt to reveal a black tank top underneath. “Much better,” sighing Buck leans back and looks over at Eddie, and loses his train of thought at the wide-eyed expression on Eddie’s face. Buck feels an odd mixture of exposed and turned on as Eddie’s eyes sweep over him, his soft brown eyes suddenly dark. Buck swallows hard, and it briefly flits through his mind that maybe the magnetic pull he has felt towards Eddie since they met is less one-sided than he thought.

The two are still holding each other’s gaze, stuck in an impromptu and oddly intimate staring contest when the room is suddenly washed in darkness and silence; the lights, television, and the hum of electricity going out simultaneously startling both men and effectively killing the moment.  
.  
Buck has the brief, egotistical thought the electricity flowing between the two of them short-circuited the whole house. “Well so much for a movie,” Buck says.

Eddie laughs nervously. “I wonder what happened?”

“Who knows, it’s LA. Although I haven’t heard anything about rolling blackouts for this area.” Buck picks up his phone to check news sources as Eddie moves to the window.

“Well, the whole street is out. Looks like the whole block too.”

“Yeah, nothing about blackouts. Which team is in tonight, three?”

“I think so.” Eddie moves away from the window and sits back down on the couch picking up his own phone.

“I’ll send Phil a quick text. Maybe there was an accident,” Buck says clicking at his phone. Buck hits send and tosses his phone on the coffee table before turning to look at Eddie. “Did your abuela lose power too?”

Eddie’s phone dings. “Um, yes. But she says Christopher is asleep and fine, don’t get myself killed driving on streets when the stoplights are out.”

“Yeah makes sense. Shit, traffic is probably going to be a bitch getting home.”

Just then Buck’s phone dings. He thumbs open the text and scans it. “Phil says there was an accident at a substation and a transformer blew. Yikes… Power will be back hopefully by morning. Downtown is a mess. Already two accidents due to malfunctioning stoplights.” Buck groans “Yup, traffic getting home will be a bigger bitch than normal.” 

“Just crash here tonight.”

“You don’t mind?” Buck asks nervously. Things still don’t feel completely back to normal between them, though Buck wonders if it will ever be the same.

“Of course not Buck. We should probably dig out a flashlight or two.” Eddie pushes himself back up off the couch. Buck flicks on his phone’s flashlight and follows him into the kitchen where Eddie roots around a drawer and pulls out two flashlights. Clicking them on he hands one to Buck. 

“I have a lantern tucked away in the hall closet.”

Buck turns off his phone’s light and slips it into his pocket. The men move down the hallway. Buck holds both flashlights over Eddie’s shoulder while he rummages through the hallway closet. Clearly, this is where Eddie hides the mess. Its disorganization is a stark contrast to the rest of the orderly home. Buck must have laughed out loud because Eddie turns around.

“Hey now, I hope you aren’t judging my messy closet.” Eddie’s voice sounds stern, but his eyes are soft and downright flirty.

Buck's mind goes blank as he searches for anything to say in response. Buck hopes that in the dimly lit hallway Eddie can’t see him swallow. Finally, Buck’s brain stops running through other scenarios in which Eddie uses that voice and expression, and he manages to mumble out an “of course not,” that is way too breathy. Eddie just smiles fondly and turns back around to finish looking for the lantern. Buck looks to the ceiling and mentally berates himself for getting so flustered.

“I need the light Buck,” Eddie prompts patiently. Buck berates himself again and shines the flashlights back over Eddie’s shoulder. His mouth is open and words are pouring out before he can stop himself, feeling self-conscious in the silence now.

“Ha, needing light to find a light. Ironic right? Is that irony? I’m never really sure. Like that song by that angsty chick…most of that shit just seems like bad luck-”

“I found it!” Eddie interrupts. Buck breathes a sigh of release. “I hope it still works, or else I’ll have to dig out the disaster kit to find batteries.” Eddie clicks on the lantern, and the short hallway illuminates in a yellow glow. “That should be good. I found some old board games and a deck of cards too,” Eddie passes the lantern to Buck, who does his best to juggle it and the two flashlights. Eddie turns back and pulls out a small stack of games and a deck of cards.

“They’ll give us something to do for a few hours anyway.”

\---

An hour later finds Buck and Eddie sitting across from each other at the coffee table, locked in a competitive game of Battle Ship.

“E5” Buck calls with a grin.

“Fuck you.”

“Now, now Eddie I believe the correct response is ‘hit and sunk.’ Also, I do believe that is game over.” Buck smiles evilly as he puts in the last red peg on his top grid. Eddie rolls his eyes and takes a swig from his beer bottle, his frown deepening.

“And I’m out of beer,” he mutters sorely. Buck stops laughing, eyes narrowing when Eddie reaches out and steals his beer bottle, before chugging the last of it. 

“Sore. Loser.” Buck laughs in response.

“Whatever. I’m gonna own your ass at poker.” Eddie says as they pull apart their grids and put away the game boards.

“You can try, Diaz.” Buck challenges.

Eddie’s eyes narrow at the use of his last name. “Oh, I will.” 

Buck chuckles and tries to stretch his cramping legs, the movement stifled by the thick fabric of his jeans, “but first can I borrow a pair of sweats or something?”

“Yeah, no problem. Third drawer down on the right.” Eddie nods in the direction of his room.

“Back in three, no cheating!” Buck jumps up, grabbing his flashlight and makes his way to Eddie’s bedroom. He quickly locates the correct drawer and pulls it open. Buck cards through the sweat pants, pulling out a pair of dark blue ones that feel ridiculously soft. Buck peels the jeans from his body and slips on the more comfortable clothing, sighing. 

Buck thinks for a minute, before reaching behind him and pulling off his tank top. Buck turns back to Eddie’s dresser and opens a drawer to find socks. He closes it and opens another. Tanks. Trying again Buck finally is successful in locating Eddie’s t-shirts. He looks through them for a few seconds before finding an LAFD one. It’s grey with the LAFD logo in bright red on the upper left. As Buck is pulling it over his head the light from Eddie’s flashlight appears at the door.

“You find them alright, Buck?”

Buck freezes his movement, only one arm in the shirt. The beam from Eddie’s flashlight hits him square on his bare chest. “Yeah sorry. Felt a little chilly so decided to borrow a t-shirt too. I hope that’s okay?” Buck seeks out Eddie’s eyes, worrying that he should have asked first. That odd look from earlier is back in Eddie’s eye.

Eddie just stares, somewhere below Buck’s eyes and Buck stands frozen, the shirt more off than on. Eddie’s eyes finally snap up, and a smile grows on his lips. “Of course Buck, you don’t even have to ask.” Buck smiles back and pulls the shirt the rest of the way down. The scent of Eddie surrounds him like a warm blanket. He fights the urge to breathe in deeply. 

“Poker?” Buck prompts.

“You know it.” Eddie turns around and leads Buck back to the living room. The two settle back down around the coffee. A bottle of liquor and two tumblers have appeared where the empty bottles of beer had been scattered.

“What’s this?” Buck asks picking up the bottle. “Oh, man tequila Eddie? You trying to get me drunk?” Even in the dimly lit room, Buck swears he sees Eddie’s face tinge.

“Relax, I’m not suggesting shots. This is high quality, not that shit frat boys get alcohol poisoning off of. You sip it like a fine scotch.” Eddie says pouring some into each of the tumblers. He closes the bottle and sets it back on the table, before picking up the cards and shuffling them. “You have played poker before, right?”

“Um, yes.” Buck picks up the cards Eddie dealt and is suddenly very interested in them. Eddie raises an eyebrow.

“Do I want to know?”

“Let’s just say it was back when I was Buck 1.0.”

Eddie just smirks knowingly. “Well we can play strip poker if you want but I was thinking we'd just play for bragging rights tonight.”

Buck cannot stop the mental image that fills his brain. Eddie sitting across from him nearly naked. Eddie losing another hand of cards. Eddie slowly peeling off his boxer briefs. The thoughts alone send blood flowing south. Buck shifts his body, trying to adjust discreetly. If Eddie notices he doesn’t say anything, he just smiles and looks at his cards. Buck is highly aware he hasn’t responded yet. This man can fluster him so easily, and Buck is more turned on by that fact than he would ever admit aloud. Finally, he manages a pathetic “bragging rights sounds good to me,” without looking up from his cards.

\---

A while later finds the boys finishing up a round of cards and their second glass of tequila. The alcohol has Buck feeling slightly buzzed- he has never been able to hold tequila- apparently not even when he sips it like an adult instead of doing body shots off of a stranger.

“Now this is more like it. Full house.” Eddie says, slapping down his cards.

Buck huffs and throws his cards down. “Whatever man. I blew up all your ships.”

Eddie laughs and picks up Bucks cards, and starts laughing harder. “Damn, you’re terrible at this game.”

“Yeah well, it’s not like I used to play for cash,” Buck says tetchily. Eddie laughs again, his chuckles devolving into a yawn. Buck follows in sympathy.

“I think I’m just about ready for bed.” Eddie rubs at his face.

“Yeah me too,” Buck says and throws back the rest of his tequila. He makes a face, and Eddie laughs at that too. Buck would be offended by how often Eddie seems to laugh at his expense if Buck didn’t love the sound of it so much. 

They clear away the booze and cards and take turns using the lantern in the bathroom. Ready for bed, Buck stands in the hallway outside the bathroom and looks warily at the couch. “Shit we never took out any blankets or pillows,” Buck pouts. 

Eddie turns off the tap from brushing his teeth. “The extras are buried in the closet. I don’t feel like digging them out. Just bunk with me for tonight.” Eddie doesn’t leave any room for argument and steers Buck by the shoulders into his bedroom.

“You sure?” Buck isn’t. This is a very bad idea.

“Ugh, stop asking me that. I’ll never offer what I don’t want to give.” Eddie throws Bucks discarded jeans and tank top to the floor and pulls back the covers. Buck hovers near the foot of the bed, and Eddie takes charge, once again steering Buck by the shoulders and firmly pushing him down onto the bed. Buck can feel himself involuntarily hold his breath. He somehow manages to make his legs swing up under the covers. A moment later the other side of the bed dips with Eddie’s weight.

For all the times they have stood too close, or stared too long nothing can compare to this. Buck can feel the heat radiating from Eddie’s body as he pulls the covers up over them. Buck is lying on his back worrying his hands in the blankets when Eddie rolls over. Buck can feel Eddie’s eyes on him. He is grateful for the pitch-blackness of the room because there is no way Eddie can see the heat Buck feels on his face. If Buck could smell Eddie on him when he pulled on Eddie’s t-shirt, now he may as well be in a meadow of Eddie scented flowers. Buck gives himself a quick mental pep talk and finds the courage to roll over and face Eddie.

“Thanks for coming tonight,” Eddie intones softly.

“It was fun. I think we both needed it. I haven’t laughed so much in a while.” Buck whispers back. Buck's eyes have adjusted some to the darkness, and he watches as Eddie's eyes rove over his face pausing for a second too long at his lips before they shoot back up to his eyes. They are lying so close now that Buck would only have to move forward a hairsbreadth to touch their lips together. He wonders how Eddie would react, and if he has been reading Eddie’s signals correctly. Before Buck can make a decision, Eddie leans forward ever so slightly, then seemingly changing his mind moves back again. When he starts to roll over to his other side Buck manages to find his voice

“Eddie”

Eddie stills in his movement and looks back up at Buck's eyes. Before Buck can second guess himself, he closes the space between them and brushes their lips together ever so gently. Eddie pulls back and smiles up at Buck before leveraging himself up on his forearms and leaning back in. Eddie kisses Buck firmer, one arm moving to the other side of Buck's body. Buck reaches up with his own hand and tenderly runs it up into Eddie’s hair. Buck's other hand finds Eddie’s waist and slips up underneath his t-shirt, running over the taut muscles and sparse hair.

Within milliseconds the kiss is becoming more heated, Buck's fingers pressing harder into Eddie’s stomach, then sliding lower, dipping underneath the waistband of his sweats. Eddie is all muscle under flesh, and Buck can’t decide where he wants to touch more. He makes an embarrassingly needy noise, and Eddie pulls away with a pop and laughs gutturally. Eddie says something that Buck is pretty sure is in Spanish-at least he hopes it is otherwise he is so far gone that he can no longer understand English. Buck just stares, pupils blown wide.

“I was hoping we would end up here tonight, mi amor.” Eddie’s voice has dropped an octave lower, and Buck feels a little dizzy. He is pretty sure it's because all the blood in his body has suddenly rushed. Or maybe that’s just because holy shit, he is laying in Eddie’s bed, in Eddie’s clothes, and just had the best-goddamned kiss of his life.

“God Eddie, I’ve wanted this for so long. I thought I was imaging the flirting. You’ve never said anything about being attracted to me. Or to men.”

Eddie quirks an eyebrow and suddenly throws a leg over Buck and settles on his hips. “One of the first few calls we worked together I mentioned that a group of women weren’t my type.”

“Yeah but, I thought it was because you have a kid, and they didn’t seem…motherly. Also, you were married to a woman.”

Eddie thinks for a moment. “Okay, so I can see how that may have not been as obvious as I thought. Though in all fairness you never said anything to me either.” 

Buck lets of a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I’ve never told anyone. Maddie only knows because she caught me making out with the pitcher of my high school baseball team.” Bucks slides his hands back up under Eddie’s shirt and runs them over his abs, mapping out the feeling of him. Eddie hums in response and leans down capturing Buck's lips in another kiss.

“We can take it slow Buck, I don’t mind. I just couldn’t go much longer without…trying.”

“I’m glad you did. Not too slow. Just, enjoy this between us for a bit. Chris deserves to know before anyone else. Though with some of the comments Hen, Chimney, and even Maddie have thrown at me I don’t think they will be all that surprised.”

“I like that plan.” Eddie smiles. Buck reaches up and pulls Eddie down into another kiss. Eddie lowers his body onto Buck. They fit together like a puzzle. Buck starts tugging at Eddie’s shirt, and they pause long enough to pull it off of him together.

“You should lose yours too,” Eddie breathes, his hand slipping under Buck’s shirt. Buck sits up some and raises his arms over his head in response. Eddie pulls it off in one smooth movement. Then it is all skin on skin, and roaming hands, and warmth, and Eddie, and perfection. Buck feels lost in the moment and overwhelmed in all the best ways.

\----

Buck wakes up the next morning to sunshine pouring in the window. He can feel the warmth of a large, masculine body spooned around him. When his sleep-addled brain catches up, he smiles. What a night it had been. He feels Eddie begin to stir behind him, and then a feather-light kiss to the back of his neck.

“Good morning,” Buck greets warmly.

“Yes, it is.” Eddie tugs at Buck's side, and he rolls over to face him. Eddie tugs him closer yet, and his hands dip under Buck’s sweatpants and squeeze his ass as he rocks their hips together. Buck swallows a moan and pulls Eddie’s head to his. He licks his way into Eddie’s mouth while tugging at his hair. They kiss deeply; the haze of sleep makes the moment feel even more intimate. When they finally pull back their eyes automatically lock.

“I could really get used to this,” Buck says, blinking softly at Eddie.

“Good, because you’re mine now,” Eddie murmurs rolling them over so buck is under him. One hand plays with the hair at the nape of Buck’s neck, the other rests gently over his heart. Buck runs a hand up and down Eddie’s side, while the other traces the tattoo that circles Eddie’s arm.

“Oh I am, am I?” Buck teases. “I should’ve known you’d be the possessive type.”

“Are you complaining?”

“What do you think?” Buck retorts, grinding his pelvis up into Eddie’s. A satisfied grin briefly lights Eddie’s features, and he leans down and catches Buck's lips in a kiss, gentle this time. Buck whimpers and follows Eddie when he pulls back. Eddie gives in, and the two kiss again, passion building when Eddie’s phone rings. With a final nip at Buck’s bottom lip, Eddie pulls back to check the caller ID. Buck sighs.

“It’s my abuela.” Eddie frowns at the phone, before accepting the call. Buck listens with closed eyes as Eddie converses with his abuela in rapid-fire Spanish. Buck’s hand drifts back up to trace Eddie’s tattoo again. It must distract him because Eddie has stopped talking and Buck can hear his abuela loudly get his attention back. They trade a few more words before Eddie hangs up.

“Everything okay?” Buck asks.

“Yeah, but a change of plans. Abuela needs to go help Tia Pepa with something this afternoon. I need to go pick up Chris in an hour and a half.”

“I could come with you, we could take him out somewhere. Hen was talking about some museum for kids the other day, sounded like it could be fun.” Eddie smiles widely at Buck, a soft look in his eyes.

“That sounds wonderful Buck. Come on, let's have breakfast and then we can go get him.” They peel themselves out of bed and make their way to kitchen bumping into each other more than is necessary. The power had come back on at some point; the fridge is humming again as Eddie opens it. He pulls out some eggs and bacon and the two work side by side in the kitchen. They move around each other with ease preparing their breakfast. Buck measures out coffee and starts the machine while Eddie heats a frying pan. Buck pulls out four slices of bread and sets them in the toaster. Eddie counts out eight slices of bacon and sets them in the hot pan. Soon the kitchen is filled with the smells and sounds of breakfast. Buck stops for a second where he stands prepping the eggs to watch Eddie flip bacon slices over. Eddie must feel his gaze because he looks over his shoulder with a smile. “See something you like?” He teases.

“Yes.” Buck answers simply and honestly. Eddie flushes, pleased.

“Bacon's almost ready if you want to scramble those.” Buck steps up to the stove and dumbs the egg mixture into the smaller frying pan, and watches Eddie pull the bacon out of the pan and set it aside to drain the fat and cool. While Buck keeps a spatula in motion to scramble the eggs Eddie starts the toaster. With timing Buck has only seen in movies, the toaster pops as Buck is dishing out eggs and bacon onto two plates. Eddie throws the toast onto the plates and the two sit down in a comfortable silence as they eat their breakfast.

Their feet tangle under the table, both feeling the need to maintain some sort of physical content. Buck hums happily as he munches on a slice of bacon. He hopes that there will be many more mornings to come like this, though with the excited chatter of Christopher to fill the contented quiet of the room. Buck can’t wait to spend the day with his two favorite boys, and the fact that he now gets to be openly affectionate towards the elder Diaz is the best thing that could have happened to him. It has been a long year, but suddenly the future looks bright and full of exciting possibilities and firsts. The prospect fills his heart with warmth.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Beta'd only by myself and Grammarly - I apologize if I missed any glaring mistakes.


End file.
